SRINAGAR (Kashmir English): The dark chapter in Jammu and Kashmir’s history began on October 27, 1947, when Indian troops forcibly landed in Srinagar without any legal justification and illegally occupied the then princely state of Jammu and Kashmir against the aspirations of its people.
According to Kashmir Media Service, what followed over the 78 years is a heart-wrenching tale of unimaginable suffering for the innocent and unarmed people of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
IIOJK is a place where over 1,100,000 Indian forces, including the Army, Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), Special Operation Group, Police personnel, Indian Air Force, Navy, and intelligence agencies continually test the patience of unarmed and oppressed people of the territory.
Military cantonments have sprung up in almost every area, including far-flung regions, tourist destinations, and health resorts, putting the lives of locals under a constant state of siege.
To move from one place to another, Kashmiris have to navigate numerous checkpoints, and they have paid a heavy toll for their peaceful protests.
Thousands have been injured by bullets, pellets, and teargas shells fired by Indian forces, and tragically, many young boys and girls have lost their eyesight due to pellet injuries.
More than 96,476 Kashmiris martyred
The brutal tactics of the Indian forces persist in IIOJK, and to date, more than 96,476 Kashmiris, including 7,406 in custody and fake encounters, have been martyred.
These killings have rendered over 22,990 women widowed and 108,005 children orphaned, while more than 11,268 Kashmiri women have been molested by Indian forces personnel.
Over 8,000 Kashmiris have been subjected to custodial disappearances during this period.
Each day brings a new tale of sorrow, a fresh voice of agony, and another horrifying account of torture, trauma, arrests, attachment of property, house raids, and cordon and search operations, as human rights abuses continue unabated in the territory.
Their lives have been marked by violence, loss, fear, and a campaign of oppression carried out by the Indian forces’ personnel and their agencies enjoying unbridled powers under draconian laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Public Safety Act (PSA)Disturbed Areas Act, and Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA).
The Indian forces’ personnel are committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied territory with impunity.
Thousands of Kashmiris, including APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Aasiya Andrabi, Naheeda Nasreen, Fehmeeda Sufi, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Pir Saifullah, Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Syed Shahid Yousuf Shah, Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom, Bilal Sidiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Mushtaq ul Islam, Dr Hameed Fayaz, Abdul Ahmad Parra, Advocate Zahid Ali, Dr Muhammad Qasim Fakhtoo, Dr Muhammad Shafi Shariati, Zaffar Akbar Butt, Ghulam Qadir Butt, Rafiq Ahmad Ganai, Shakeel Ahmad Yatoo, Umar Adil Dar, Saleem Nanaji, Muhammad Yasin Butt, Fayaz Hussain Jaferi, Firdous Ahmed Shah, Noor Muhammad Fayaz, Showket Hakeem, Zahoor Ahmed Butt, Adil Siraj Zargar, Dawood Zargar, Mehrajuddin Nanda, Assadullah Parray, Shabroza Bano, Aafreena Ganie, Zahoor Watalee, Mufti Aijaz, Mufti Shahnawaz, Nigeena Manzoor, Munira Begum, Safeeqa Begum, Ishrat Rasool, human rights defender Khurram Parvez, journalist Irfan Majeed, and others lodged in different jails of India and IIOJK are facing illegal detention under these black laws.
There are instances where people were detained under the PSA for nearly two years and under the UAPA for five years, only to be later acquitted by the courts, with charges deemed baseless.
